Apple Pencil reviews: Is it worth buying?
Eye On Apple covers the latest hot news stories, rumors and illuminating discussions about Apple and its products. Product coverage includes Apple Watch, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Pay, Apple TV.
The iPad Pro is a great laptop replacement for some users but only if it's paired with the right keyboard. The Razer Mechanical Keyboard Case might work well for some iPad Pro users, but not for others.
When Apple released the iPad Pro it was hailed as a possible laptop replacement for some users. While the iPad Pro itself is a fantastic device, very few people could use it as a laptop replacement with just the on-screen keyboard. An external keyboard is definitely a must-have for the iPad Pro to get the most out of it.
Featuring optimized actuation and reset points and an actuation force of 65g, the world's first low-profile mechanical switch delivers the exact same performance as a full-fledged mechanical keyboard.
Whether you're out at night or surfing before you go to bed, each key is individually backlit for even illumination throughout.
With 20 brightness levels, you can easily adjust the Razer Mechanical Keyboard Case to perfectly suit any setting you're in.
The Razer Mechanical Keyboard case not only protects your tablet, but it also gives you added flexibility whenever you need it.
After some research and despite its less-than-stellar reviews, I bought a Razer mechanical keyboard case for the iPad Pro. I've been working with this keyboard for over a month now, and not only am I more efficient because of it – my back doesn't hurt anymore and I'm typing faster than ever.
The Razer mechanical keyboard case for iPad Pro is a peculiar product aimed at a specific audience: people who work from an iPad Pro every day to justify the cost, who want a keyboard case with an adjustable kickstand, and who need backlit keys to type in the dark.
I happen to be exactly that kind of iPad user. This keyboard has flaws and questionable design decisions – you could argue that it doesn't even look nice – and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone looking for a entry-level iPad keyboard case or standard Bluetooth keyboard. However, despite the things Razer could have done differently, the functionality of the kickstand-keyboard combo is unparalleled. As a heavy iPad Pro-only user, this is the keyboard I wanted to work faster and more comfortably from anywhere.
The Razer mechanical keyboard case is my new favorite way to type on the iPad Pro. It's not for everyone, but it's just what I was looking for.
I tend to put a lot of stock in Federico's opinions when it comes to the iPad Pro and its accessories. As I noted above, he uses only an iPad for his daily work, so he has to get the most out of his device.
Jon Henshaw: "I was excited when I first heard about this keyboard. Razor has an excellent reputation for making great hardware, especially for gamers. I ordered it directly from Razer (before it was offered via Amazon) but ended up returning it for a full refund after testing it out for a few days.
Tabularasa: "I never buy products that haven't been thoroughly reviewed and picked apart, so this was a new adventure for me. The mechanical keys, sleek black matte-finish and the Razer name made it a no-brainer. So I did it. First impressions, I love it. The keyboard is everything I'm used to using on a daily basis and was able to breeze through about 500 words at my usual rapid-fire pace without any issues. I've had my hands resting on it for a while now and I don't notice any disparities in the matte-finish on the keyboard. I don't find it heavy or bulky either, in fact, it's smaller than the last case I had on my iPad and it's still a million pounds lighter than my laptop. I sit on the floor and do all my typing, yes it's bad all around doing that, but this sits perfect on my thighs, no wibble-wobble when I hammer my fingers on the keyboard. While the screen does bounce some, it doesn't bounce anymore than the other case I had but then again, I use the pencil as my finger and I don't feel I need to jam it against the screen, like I do when I use my finger.
Nato: "I bought and ipad pro for on-the-go digital art and was subsequently consumed by accessory fever. I thought for sure there would be more gadgets out that would upgrade this thing to the robo-art machine I was dreaming of. I saw this case with it's odd metal kickstand and it's backlit mechanical keyboard and thought this would be a worthwhile investment. I'm also a huge gamer and like the Razer name, despite only owning their Firefly RGB mouse pad. I was curious about the mechanical keyboard.
StatGeek: "I took a chance and bought this iPad Pro keyboard/case for my wife as a gift before a trip. I read all the reviews and was worried it would be a flop, but she loves it. Said the typing experience was so far beyond the Apple smart cover that she won't go back, and this has become the go-to travel solution for work.
Note to others - the 'kickstand' does close reliably once you figure out the trick. It comes with a slip of fabric protecting the case from the metal kickstand that shows you to place your thumbs in the middle of the kickstand and press it closed firmly. By firmly they mean, "not slowly." If you follow those instructions (thumbs placed, press closed with authority) it stays closed every time.
RAko890c: "So. The keyboard clicks enough to get you mean looks in the coffee shop and feels great. That part is wonderful.
The case portion is really poor. There's a portion that hooks around the iPad firmly. It's a big pain to take off, so you just always leave it on, and separate it from the keyboard when you don't need keyboard. You definitely want to separate it from the keyboard, since the keyboard would like to fall off and if you grab the iPad wrong it will just fall to the floor.
The top case has a metal kickstand that can't stay flat against the back of the screen. If you fuss with it a bit you can make it "pop" flat but if you take away your hand it will pop back out again. The kickstand being metal with sharp edges is especially a problem. Within a week of getting it I had cut my hand, scuffed a piece of wood furniture and scratched my new leather couch. It's also in the way when you try to carry the iPad and if you position your hand wrong, it's really easy to pinch your finger behind the kickstand (and OUCH it hurts).
Having the kickstand was nice at first - I can prop up my iPad while reading recipes, yay. But due to how awkward it makes holding or setting down the iPad, I ended up having to move the kickstand often during use - Push it out a bit to use as a handle when carrying it, lay it nearly flat when not using it, swing it wider when wanting to view the screen. After about 2 months of this, the plastic around the hinge on the kickstand broke, and now it's an even bigger pain to deal with.
As you can tell from the comments above, the folks who posted reviews on Amazon had differing experiences with the Razer Mechanical Keyboard Case. You'll have to make up your own mind between the mostly positive review at MacStories and the negative comments posted at Amazon, sometimes beauty really is in the eye of the beholder.
I'll leave you with some additional reviews of the Razer Mechanical Keyboard Case that will help you make your buying decision.
Did you miss a post? Check the Eye On Apple home page to get caught up with the latest news, discussions and rumors about Apple.
Jim Lynch is a technology analyst and online community manager who has also written for many leading industry publications over the years, including ITworld, InfoWorld, CIO, PCMag, ExtremeTech, and numerous others.
The opinions expressed in this blog are those of Jim Lynch and do not necessarily represent those of IDG Communications, Inc., its parent, subsidiary or affiliated companies.


You've Hired a Web Design Agency: Now What?
Many business leaders decide to hire a web design agency in order to streamline the design process without sacrificing quality. It's a smart decision, especially when you need to meet brand expectations but you either can't afford to hire an in-house web designer or when doing so, it just doesn't make sense.
There are a number of considerations to keep in mind when searching for the perfect-fit web design agency, and there's also a degree of responsibility you need to own once you've found the best agency or designer to meet your needs.
It's important to be prepared and have a plan of attack to help web designers understand your goals and how they can provide solutions. Here's what you need to know, how you can prepare, and what you can expect after hiring a web design agency.
Content marketing and web design go hand-in-hand.
We'd say you can't have one without the other, but that just isn't true. Plenty of companies build websites without giving a thought to how their content will fit into the equation. In our view, this is a huge missed opportunity.
After all, content is the workhorse of your online presence, and it's not something you can kick-start overnight. For the best content marketing ROI, you need to integrate it with your website design from the very beginning.
When we think of creating a consistent "brand voice" for marketing purposes, we usually think of our direct communications: Our blogs, emails, or web copy. It's easy to forget that there's another communication channel that needs the same devotion to your established brand persona—your website design.
We all know how complicated web design can be.
One of the most interesting aspects to review in this area is color. The psychology of color in web design is a topic that gets plenty of attention, and for good reason. Color is a huge part of how viewers perceive content, engage with material, and form an overall impression of a brand's persona. In fact, Google found that the average reader will judge the aesthetics of your site and make the decision to leave or stay in as few as 50 milliseconds—faster than we can consciously process.
Naturally, color choice plays a big part in this assessment. But what happens when you want to ditch these carefully-chosen color schemes in favor of something a bit more innovative? As we'll review, colorphobia just might be the secret to powerful web design.
Your Company is Rebranding—Do You Need a New Website?
Rebranding is a great way to breathe new life into your business, but brand leaders are often quick to assume a rebrand means a facelift for the entire company, website included.
You don't need a new website just because you're rebranding your business, but it might be a good idea.
Your website is the contact point for online consumers, so it's natural to want it to be in line with rebranding efforts. Whether this means a new website or simple changes to key elements depends on you.


Weddings are a fairy tale moment at the Duquesne Club, with a choice of magical settings and a menu selection that truly makes memories.
Our professional and friendly staff are ready and eager to be attentive to your every need. Our banquet and catering team has the knowledge and experience to help plan every detail of your wedding.
From a cocktail hour in the breathtaking Garden Patio, to a reception in the elegant Main Dining Room, members and their guests will enjoy every moment.
Family celebrations are best at the Duquesne Club. From birthdays, baptisms and bar/bat mitzvahs to anniversaries, retirements and reunions, your Club can host the celebration and provide hotel accommodations.
The Duquesne Club hosts many private weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, and company gatherings. Only Duquesne Club members may sponsor events.


Years ago my family made their own homemade salami. You can enjoy my family's recipe on how to make your own salami.
Make Homemade salami from scratch.
Combine all ingredients. Mix well. Shape into 2 rolls. Wrap in Reynolds Wrap. Tie ends and refrigerate for 24 hours. Do not remove from foil. Place in pan and cover with boiling water. Boil for 1 hour. Remove from pan. Punch holes in foil with fork to drain. Rewrap in foil and refrigerate.
This is a good recipe, but instead of boiling it I poke holes in the foil and put it on a cookie sheet, then bake it in a 200 degree F oven for 8 hours. Take it out of the oven and cut thick slices to make sandwiches while it's still hot — lettuce tomato and mayo, YUM!
About the wrapping salami in tin foil. Aluminum is one of the major causes of Alzheimers .
I would love to try this recipe as I am very much into homemade sausages and jerkies. But I am curious, do the small quantities of seasonings actually do well for 2lbs of meat?
Penzey's, and the Chicago Spice House sell for the smaller amounts, so I think it would work well.


text:
Q: " Exception in thread "main" java.util.InputMismatchException" How can I show the Output of this Program? When I run it, it will throw an InputMismatchException.
Here is the entire code:
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.Scanner;

public class Try {

    static HashMap< String, String> codeMap = new HashMap< String, String>();
    static HashMap< String, String> ref = new HashMap< String, String>();

    static void initMap() {
        codeMap.put("A", ".-");
        codeMap.put("B", "-...");
        codeMap.put("C", "-.-.");
        codeMap.put("D", "-..");
        codeMap.put("E", ".");
        codeMap.put("F", "..-.");
        codeMap.put("G", "--.");
        codeMap.put("H", "....");
        codeMap.put("I", "..");
        codeMap.put("J", ".---");
        codeMap.put("K", "-.-");
        codeMap.put("L", ".-..");
        codeMap.put("M", "--");
        codeMap.put("N", "-.");
        codeMap.put("O", "---");
        codeMap.put("P", ".--.");
        codeMap.put("Q", "--.-");
        codeMap.put("R", ".-.");
        codeMap.put("S", "...");
        codeMap.put("T", "-");
        codeMap.put("U", "..-");
        codeMap.put("V", "...-");
        codeMap.put("W", ".--");
        codeMap.put("X", "-..-");
        codeMap.put("Y", "-.--");
        codeMap.put("Z", "--..");
        codeMap.put("_", "..--");
        codeMap.put(".", "---.");
        codeMap.put(",", ".-.-");
        codeMap.put("?", "----");

        ref.put(".-", "A");
        ref.put("-...", "B");
        ref.put("-.-.", "C");
        ref.put("-..", "D");
        ref.put(".", "E");
        ref.put("..-.", "F");
        ref.put("--.", "G");
        ref.put("....", "H");
        ref.put("..", "I");
        ref.put(".---", "J");
        ref.put("-.-", "K");
        ref.put(".-..", "L");
        ref.put("--", "M");
        ref.put("-.", "N");
        ref.put("---", "O");
        ref.put(".--.", "P");
        ref.put("--.-", "Q");
        ref.put(".-.", "R");
        ref.put("...", "S");
        ref.put("-", "T");
        ref.put("..-", "U");
        ref.put("...-", "V");
        ref.put(".--", "W");
        ref.put("-..-", "X");
        ref.put("-.--", "Y");
        ref.put("--..", "Z");
        ref.put("..--", "_");
        ref.put("---.", ".");
        ref.put(".-.-", ",");
        ref.put("----", "?");
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        {
            Scanner in = new Scanner(System.in);
            System.out.println("Enter Code: ");
            initMap();
            int N = in.nextInt();
            for (int i = 1; i <= N; i++) {
                StringBuffer encry =  new StringBuffer(in.next());
                StringBuffer inter = new StringBuffer();
                StringBuffer num = new StringBuffer();

                StringBuffer org = new StringBuffer();
                String tmp =  new String(encry);
                for(int j = 0; j < tmp.length(); j++) {
                    inter.append(codeMap.get(tmp.substring(j, j+1)));
                    num.append(codeMap.get(tmp.substring(j, j+1)).length());
                }
                num = num.reverse();
                int index = 0;
                for(int j = 0; j < num.length(); j++) {
                    int t1 = Integer.valueOf(num.substring(j, j+1));
                    StringBuffer con = new StringBuffer();
                    for(int k = index; k < index+t1;k++) {
                        con.append(inter.substring(k, k+1));
                    }
                    org.append(ref.get(new String(con)));
                    index += t1;
                }
                System.out.printf("%d: %s\n",i,org);
            }
        }
    }
}

A: Enclose the whole code in a try block and print the stack trace in the catch block and see on which line there is error and act accordingly.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
DOCUMENT: Crime
Cops: Naked Man Said He Was Doing "Walk Of Shame"
Perp claimed 1 AM stroll was cheating penance
https://www.thesmokinggun.com/file/walk-shame
APRIL 1--A man who police saw strolling naked this morning on a South Carolina street told officers that he was doing a "walk of shame" as penance for cheating on his wife, according to an arrest report.
Investigators say that Michael Boatman, 41, was spotted by a sheriff's deputy around 1:10 AM as he walked on a Spartanburg street with "just a clear bag over his genitals" and a "blunt in his hand."
Boatman, one cop reported, explained that he was doing a "walk of shame," which he needed to complete "for his wife." A second officer noted that Boatman said that he had cheated on his wife and was doing a "walk of shame." Boatman also reportedly "referenced Adam and Eve from the bible, stating that he was willing to go to jail for his acts."
Two Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office deputies noted that Boatman, a Spartanburg resident, admitted to earlier taking meth.
While being questioned by police, Boatman allegedly sought to run away from deputies, but was taken to the ground and handcuffed. After being placed in a squad car, Boatman said that he would try to escape from jail and asked a deputy to shoot him.
Pictured above, Boatman was charged with indecent exposure, disorderly conduct, marijuana possession, and resisting police. Boatman's rap sheet includes three separate domestic violence convictions, court records show. (3 pages)
naked guy, walk of shame, South Carolina

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


As founding attorney of Tim Anderson Law, LLC, Mr. Anderson represents clients across the state of New Jersey. He dedicates his practice primarily to federal criminal defense, handling cases that involve the following matters: mail, wire, mortgage, securities, insurance, health care, and bank fraud; theft and embezzlement; Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act violations; intellectual property, Internet and computer crimes, such as computer hacking; aggravated identity theft; Department of Defense fraud and ITAR offenses; tax evasion and fraud; violations of political campaign laws and anti-kickback laws; money laundering and insider trading. Mr. Anderson also handles cases involving drug crimes, immigration, the Lacey Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act and environmental crimes.
In 1982, Mr. Anderson received a Bachelor of Arts with honors from Gettysburg College. He later earned a Juris Doctor with honors from the University of Minnesota Law School.
With more than 20 years of experience, Mr. Anderson knows how to defend people who are facing tough criminal charges. Providing counsel in a variety of matters, he has tried more than 40 cases to verdict. Among his many successes, he has won the dismissal of clients' drug conspiracy charges and has obtained acquittals for clients who were accused of failing to file tax returns. For his track record of success, Mr. Anderson has earned the highest rating possible of AV Preeminent* from Martindale-Hubbell. He also holds an Avvo "Superb" rating.
Active in the legal community, Mr. Anderson serves in the New Jersey State Bar Association's Criminal Law Section, is a past chair (2015-2016) of the Solo and Small-Firm Section, and current vice president of the Heckel Inn of Court (focusing on criminal matters). Additionally, he is a member of the Federal Bar Association New Jersey Chapter, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey, and the Monmouth Bar Association.


So, it was bound to happen someday. Somebody really techy set up a way to get your Bible reading in...through rss (or email, online, and even to iCal for you mac users). Check it out: http://www.esv.org/biblereadingplans.
I found this through ChurchCrunch.
Personally, I'm doing it through e-mail because I always check that everyday. Got my first one this morning. We'll call it a New Year's resolution.


AGC Communications Coordinator Gary Guccione today issued a reminder that nominations for the 2010 Greyhound Adoption Person of the Year Award must be submitted by 5 pm CDT Wednesday, September 1, in order to receive consideration.
Any individual or organization may nominate a candidate for the award. The nominee may be a volunteer or paid individual in the U.S. or Canada.
The award winner and his/her guest will receive complimentary airfare and lodging to the AGC/AGTOA spring meeting, where the award is presented, as well as a $500 donation to an adoption group of the winner's choice.


YOU DID IT!!!!! Congratulations! Glad my directions helped.....but it was YOU who figured it out from these poor words.
Now I will have to think about what episode your photo comes from. Meanwhile, someone else may come along and guess it!
mhm, nobody likes to guess?
you are exactly right, Jack's - it is Double Jeopardy! Your turn!


EDGE OF THE DEEP CONVECTION DUE TO MODERATE WESTERLY SHEAR.
WEAKEN RAPIDLY ONCE IT IS INLAND OVER MEXICO.
FORECAST PHILOSOPHY REMAINS UNCHANGED FROM THE PREVIOUS ADVISORY.
CLOSE TO THE SPEED OF THE MODEL CONSENSUS.


Jesse Osborne-Lanthier is a conceptual electronic musician and visual artist focused on inciting alternative cognitive responses via mixed sonic material. Also working solo as Noir, Lanthier's collaborative aliases include Femminielli Noir with Bernardino Femminielli and The H with Francesco De Gallo.
Lanthier was raised in Montreal and been active as a sound artist since 2007. His most recent album, Otherwise Insignificant Psyche Debris, is comprised of 22 live recordings from over the last few years and and was released as a cassette via labels Hobo Cult and MIND Records. Focused on the concept of dispositional emotional regulation, the body of work deals with acceptance, avoidance, problem solving, reappraisal, rumination, and suppression. It contains remixes by Grischa Lichtenberger (Raster Noton, Semantica), Vereker (L.I.E.S.), Hobo Cubes (Debacle, Digitalis, Opal Tapes), VNDL (Kvitnu, Hymen), and Robert Lippok (To Rococo Rot, Raster Noton) and is mastered by Vladislav Delay. It acts as the "exaggerated and terminal" follow-up to the collection Athenaeum of Unedited, Superannuated, Incomplete, Unreleased, Intimate Works 2011-2013, an intimate selection of more beat-driven pieces, again taken unedited from the main front-of-house mixing boards at his shows in Montreal, Berlin, Barcelona, and Nottingham. Also released in cassette tape format by Hobo Cult Records, the works cycle from dub-influenced techno to static waves of noise, always textural, and with no trace of simplified, predictable formats. About all of his work he writes, "instead of using a platform or mold of dance music in order to make people move, I might use it to prompt a certain feeling, state, understanding, or aesthetic. I aim to use the tools which are available to me through contemporary music in order to reach a different and individualized end."
Osborne-Lanthier has also scored short films and produced for contemporary theatre. He recently moved to Berlin.


text:
package com.amazonaws.services.iotwireless.model;

import java.io.Serializable;
import javax.annotation.Generated;
import com.amazonaws.protocol.StructuredPojo;
import com.amazonaws.protocol.ProtocolMarshaller;

/**
 *

 * The LoRaWAN information used to start a FUOTA task.
 *

 *
 * @see AWS
 *      API Documentation
 */
@Generated("com.amazonaws:aws-java-sdk-code-generator")
public class LoRaWANStartFuotaTask implements Serializable, Cloneable, StructuredPojo {

    private java.util.Date startTime;

    /**
     * @param startTime
     */

    public void setStartTime(java.util.Date startTime) {
        this.startTime = startTime;
    }

    /**
     * @return
     */

    public java.util.Date getStartTime() {
        return this.startTime;
    }

    /**
     * @param startTime
     * @return Returns a reference to this object so that method calls can be chained together.
     */

    public LoRaWANStartFuotaTask withStartTime(java.util.Date startTime) {
        setStartTime(startTime);
        return this;
    }

    /**
     * Returns a string representation of this object. This is useful for testing and debugging. Sensitive data will be
     * redacted from this string using a placeholder value.
     *
     * @return A string representation of this object.
     *
     * @see java.lang.Object#toString()
     */
    @Override
    public String toString() {
        StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
        sb.append("{");
        if (getStartTime() != null)
            sb.append("StartTime: ").append(getStartTime());
        sb.append("}");
        return sb.toString();
    }

    @Override
    public boolean equals(Object obj) {
        if (this == obj)
            return true;
        if (obj == null)
            return false;

        if (obj instanceof LoRaWANStartFuotaTask == false)
            return false;
        LoRaWANStartFuotaTask other = (LoRaWANStartFuotaTask) obj;
        if (other.getStartTime() == null ^ this.getStartTime() == null)
            return false;
        if (other.getStartTime() != null && other.getStartTime().equals(this.getStartTime()) == false)
            return false;
        return true;
    }

    @Override
    public int hashCode() {
        final int prime = 31;
        int hashCode = 1;

        hashCode = prime * hashCode + ((getStartTime() == null) ? 0 : getStartTime().hashCode());
        return hashCode;
    }

    @Override
    public LoRaWANStartFuotaTask clone() {
        try {
            return (LoRaWANStartFuotaTask) super.clone();
        } catch (CloneNotSupportedException e) {
            throw new IllegalStateException("Got a CloneNotSupportedException from Object.clone() " + "even though we're Cloneable!", e);
        }
    }

    @com.amazonaws.annotation.SdkInternalApi
    @Override
    public void marshall(ProtocolMarshaller protocolMarshaller) {
        com.amazonaws.services.iotwireless.model.transform.LoRaWANStartFuotaTaskMarshaller.getInstance().marshall(this, protocolMarshaller);
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


the direct provoking cause of a condition.
Direct provoking cause of a condition.
thus indicating plainly the action of the sun's rays as the exciting cause of that extraordinary emanation.
It is probable that in majority of cases a severe blow on abdominal wall is the exciting cause.
Acquired hernias may be worsened by exciting causes like intra abdominal pressure caused by constipation (Krishna murthy, 2006).


In the period from 2015 till 2018 as part of the project "Social work of Russian Orthodox Church in XXI century" the Monitoring aimed at the investigation of church social work and its perfprmers was carried out. Yearly we've launched online survey for people, who passed the special training course by The Synodal Department for Church charity and social service of Moscow patriarchate. Questionnaire was designed not only for feedback which is valuable for Synodal Departement, but also for getting more information about various aspects of church social work, such as: popular activities, level of participation, volunteering, cooperation of priests and laity, funding, and so on.
For more information about the project as well as for data-access please contact Polina Vrublevskaya or Daria Oreshina.


Great window cleaners. Good value; friendly team and fab customer service; super sparkly windows!
The AMac operatives have been cleaning for my house about 6 months. It's a Victorian semi, windows with the small Georgian panes. AMac do all windows front and back, all the outer door glass and paint work plus the garden shed's. The young men are polite, careful, energetic and try to be punctual ~ cleaning every six weeks. I have no problems with their results!


text:
Sanwo-Olu receives notes Jakande left for him before his death
Three days after the passing of Alhaji Lateef Jakande, the late first Civilian Governor of Lagos State, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Saturday received two notes left for him by Jakande before his death.
Sanwo-Olu led a delegation of top government functionaries in the State to the Fidau (Islamic funeral prayer) held for the late Jakande at his Ilupeju residence on Sunday, during which the Governor personally conveyed his condolences to the deceased's immediate and extended family members.
The visit came two days after the Governor attended the burial of the late Jakande at Ikoyi Vaults and Gardens, where the deceased's remains were laid to rest.
Jakande was the first politician to be elected as Executive Governor of Lagos, governing from 1979 to 1983. He died on February 11, 2021 at 91.
Sanwo-Olu arrived at the deceased's residence, at 10:23am, in company of the Secretary to the State Government, Mrs. Folashade Jaji, Head of Service, Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola, Chief of Staff, Mr. Tayo Ayinde, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Dr. Wale Ahmed, Commissioner for Information, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso, and the State's Attorney General, Mr. Moyosore Onigbanjo, SAN.


text:
use crate::formatter::nasm::tests::fmt_factory;
use crate::formatter::tests::options::{test_format_file, test_format_file_all, test_format_file_common};

#[test]
fn test_options_common() {
	test_format_file_common("Nasm", "OptionsResult.Common", || fmt_factory::create_options());
}

#[test]
fn test_options_all() {
	test_format_file_all("Nasm", "OptionsResult", || fmt_factory::create_options());
}

#[test]
fn test_options2() {
	test_format_file("Nasm", "OptionsResult2", "Options2", || fmt_factory::create_options());
}


The other player board is the main game mechanic which shows a circle divided into 6 sectors where buildings are placed once they have been bought. The circle has an arm like a clock's minute-hand with 6 values around the part at the circle's centre (0, 2, 3, 4, 4+1 and !) – these 6 values each match up to the circle's 6 sectors. At the end of a round, players both advance their clock hand by one sector so the values in the centre now point at the next adjacent sector – as a result a building that was next to the zero will now be next to the 2; a building that was next to the 2 will now be next to the 3, and so on. Any building now next to the ! symbol is immediately sold for half of its value.
On their turn, a player can buy one building in the market by paying the resources (sometimes cash) marked on the building tile and this places it on the player's board in the sector next to the zero on the clock-hand. Alternatively, a player can use their action to use any effect of any building on the player boards that is not next to the zero.
On this player's board, there is one building in the zero sector, three buildings in the 2 sector, and two buildings in the 3 sector.
Each building's tile shows what effect it has and the number it is next to on the clock hand is the number of times the player can use that effect when used; for example, a building whose effect moves a player's wood marker vertically one space which is next to the 3 when used allows the player to move their wood marker vertically 3 times. Players can use their opponent's buildings as if they were their own, but must pay 1 cash to their opponent to do so.
A used building remains on its owner's board but still gets placed in the sector next to the zero. So, using any building means neither player can use it again in the same round.
The building tiles always enter the game in specific rounds and their effects (and values) generally increase as the game progresses. During their turn, players can sell any of their buildings back to the market to receive cash equal to half their value. When the game ends, players add up the value of their buildings plus any cash – highest total wins.
Overall, Le Havre: The Inland Port is a simple game but with continual, tricky decisions to be made. I'm always interested in 2-player Eurogames as many great games that work well with more than 2 players just don't work well when played with only two. Also, 2-player games are hard to create because of the transparency and only having one opponent to contend with, i.e. if player A does one thing, player B just counters that. However, The Inland Port overcomes this with lots of choices and no way a player can do the same action immediately after their opponent – so, very quickly, your position and your opponent's become very different.
The warehouse board is clever because only moving resource markers in certain directions means there is a limit to continually moving a resource marker in the same direction, i.e. moving right to gain 1 resource will eventually be useless when you reach the right-hand edge and can not go any further. Also, you can only move in certain directions when spending resources which means you sometimes have to overspend, i.e. if a marker is in the far-left column, you would only be spend that resource by moving it vertically downwards, lowering its value by 3, even if only 1 or 2 is required.
The player board is also clever because it adds a 'cooking' element to the game by which I mean the longer you wait, the better a single use of a building will be. However, you need to consider how likely it will be that your opponent may use it first which would reset it. I'm usually so busy with my own plans that I'm not sure what my opponent's intentions are to intentionally get in their way, but maybe more plays would give me this skill.
The effects of different buildings are quite varied. Whilst a little bewildering at first, there are lots of options to choose from every action and you quickly start to formulate short-term and longer-term plans, although you'll likely need/want to re-adjust as you go. I enjoyed working out what buildings I wanted to own, which I could afford, which would work well together and which would increase my end game value. Actually, that last one's important to keep in mind because generating resources feels very attractive and leaves your options open, but resources are worth nothing at the end of the game on their own (unless you also have specific buildings).
This player has 2 fish, 9 clay, 12 wood and 17 grain. Buildings that move the red marker 2 or more to the right will not have their full effect.
I had a couple of minor issues. First, the game has a fixed schedule for introducing buildings each round so they get more powerful/valuable as the game progresses which is fine; however, it means the players know who will have the first chance to buy the buildings whose end value are based on resources (i.e. 1 cash per fish, or 10 cash per building with anchor icon). For example, the player taking the game's first action always has first chance to buy the building whose value is based on grain later. I don't think it's a massive problem, but it just feels like it could pre-determine some of the players' strategies.
Second, I found the number of actions taken is not immediately obvious – You can usually count the building tiles in the zero sectors, but it's fiddly as many later buildings with no effects are placed at the side of the board, plus the zero sector moves each round. As a result, the current turn number is not immediately obvious which is annoying as it's very important. The building chart (showing each building's cost and entry round) could have been a round/turn track instead (or at least had that on its rearside), especially as the information on the building chart can be better displayed simply by placing all the tiles in rows.
In the end, the two issues above are minor items and Le Havre: The Inland Port is a great 2-player game requiring constant decisions and the great feeling that you don't have enough actions to do all that you need. I hope I will get to play the 2-player version of Agricola sometime too.
This entry was posted on Monday, February 4th, 2013 at 10:15 am	and is filed under Board Game Review, Board Games, Le Havre: Inland Port. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.


text:
Stieltjesove konstante (ali posplošene Eulerjeve konstante) so v matematiki števila , ki se pojavljajo v Laurentovi vrsti za Riemannovo funkcijo ζ:

Ničta Stieltjesova konstanta  je znana kot Euler-Mascheronijeva konstanta. Konstante se imenujejo po nizozemskem matematiku Thomasu Joannesu Stieltjesu in redkeje po švicarskem matematiku, fiziku in astronomu Leonhardu Eulerju.

Izrazi

Stieltjes je pokazal, da so konstante dane z limito:

Cauchyjeva formula za odvod vodi do integralskega izraza:

Več integralskih izrazov in neskončnih vrst so v svojem delu podali Jensen, Franel, Hermite, Hardy, Ramanudžan, Ainsworth, Howell, Coppo, Connon, Coffey, Choi, Blagouchine in drugi avtorji. Še posebej Jensen-Franelova integralska formula, večkrat napačno pripisana Ainsworthu in Howellu, pravi, da velja:

kjer je  Kroneckerjeva delta. Med drugimi formulami so (glej: ):

Znano vrsto, ki vsebuje celi del logaritma, je podal Hardy leta 1912:

Tu je  dvojiški logaritem.

Israilov je podal delno konvergentno vrsto z Bernoullijevimi števili :

Oloa in Tauraso sta pokazala, da vrsta s harmoničnimi števili  lahko vodi do Stieltjesovih konstant:

Blagouchine je našel počasi konvergentno vrsto, ki vsebuje nepredznačena Stirlingova števila prve vrste :

kot tudi delno konvergentno vrsto s samimi racionalnimi členi:

Več drugih vrst je danih v Coffeyjevemu delu.

Asimptotična rast

Za Stieltjesove konstante velja meja:

ki jo je podal Berndt leta 1972. Boljše meje so našli Lavrik, Israilov, Matsuoka, Nan-You, Williams, Knessl, Coffey, Adell, Saad-Eddin, Fekih-Ahmed in Blagouchine. Eno od najboljših ocen z elementarnimi funkcijami je podal Matsuoka leta 1985:

Dokaj točne ocene z neelementarnimi funkcijami so podali Knessl, Coffey in Fekih-Ahmed. Knessl in Coffey sta na primer dala naslednjo formulo, ki relativno dobro aproksimira Stieltjesove konstante za velike . Če je  enolična rešitev enačbe:

z , in, če je , potem velja:

kjer je:

Vse do  Knessl-Coffeyjev približek trenutno predvideva predznak  z eno izjemo za .

Številske vrednosti

Prve desetiške vrednosti Stieltjesovih konstant podaja razpredelnica:

{| class="wikitable"
|  || desetiške vrednosti  || OEIS
|-
| 0 || +0,5772156649015328606065120900824024310421593359 ||
|-
| 1 || −0,0728158454836767248605863758749013191377363383 ||
|-
| 2 || −0,0096903631928723184845303860352125293590658061 ||
|-
| 3 || +0,0020538344203033458661600465427533842857158044 ||
|-
| 4 || +0,0023253700654673000574681701775260680009044694 ||
|-
| 5 || +0,0007933238173010627017533348774444448307315394 ||
|-
| 6 || −0,0002387693454301996098724218419080042777837151 ||
|-
| 7 || −0,0005272895670577510460740975054788582819962534 ||
|-
| 8 || −0,0003521233538030395096020521650012087417291805 ||
|-
| 9 || −0,0000343947744180880481779146237982273906207895 ||
|-
| 10 || +0,0002053328149090647946837222892370653029598537 ||
|-
| 100 || −4,2534015717080269623144385197278358247028931053 · 1017 ||
|-
| 1000 || −1,5709538442047449345494023425120825242380299554 · 10486 ||
|-
| 10000 || −2,2104970567221060862971082857536501900234397174 · 106883 ||
|-
| 100000 || +1,9919273063125410956582272431568589205211659777 · 1083432 ||
|}

Za velike  absolutne vrednosti Stieltjesovih konstant naraščajo hitro, predznak pa se spreminja v zapletenem vzorcu.

Dodatne informacije o numeričnem določevanju Stieltjesovih konstant se lahko najde v delu avtorjev: Keiper, Kreminski, Plouffe in Johansson. Johansson je podal vrednosti Stieltjesovih konstant do , vsaka točna na več kot 10000 števk. Številske vrednosti se lahko dobijo v podatkovni bazi LMFDB.

Posplošene Stieltjesove konstante

Splošna informacija

Bolj splošno se lahko definirajo Stieltjesove konstante , ki se pojavljajo v Laurentovi vrsti za Hurwitzevo funkcijo ζ:

Tu je  kompleksno število z . Ker je Hurwitzeva funkcija ζ posplošitev Riemannove funkcije ζ, velja . Ničta konstanta je preprosto funkcija digama . Za druge konstante ni znana razčlenitev na elementarne ali klasične funkcije iz analize. Ne glede na to obstaja več izrazov zanje. Na primer naslednji asimptotični izraz:

ki sta jo podala Berndt in Wilton. Analogon Jensen-Franelove formule za posplošeno Stieltjesovo konstanto je Hermitova formula:

Za posplošene Stieltjesove konstante velja naslednja rekurenčna zveza:

kakor tudi multiplikacijski izrek:

kjer  označuje binomski koeficient.

Prva posplošena Stieltjesova konstanta

Prva posplošena Stieltjesova konstanta ima več pomembnih značilnosti.
 Malmstenova enakost (refleksijska formula za prve posplošene Stieltjesove konstante): refleksijska formula za prvo posplošeno Stieltjesovo konstanto ima obliko:

kjer sta  in  takšni pozitivni celi števii, da velja ,  pa je funkcija Γ. Formulo so dolgo časa pripisovali Almkvistu in Meurmanu, ki sta jo izpeljala v 1990-ih. Vendar je nedavno Blagouchine odkril, da je to enakost, sicer v malo drugačni obliki, našel Malmsten leta 1846.

 Izrek o racionalnih argumentih: prva posplošena Stieltjesova konstanta z racionalnim argumentom se lahko izračuna iz delno sklenjene oblike s formulo:

Alternativni dokaz je kasneje predložil Coffey.

 Končne vsote: za prve posplošene Stieltjesove konstante obstaje veliko sumacijskih formul. Na primer:

 Nekatere posebne vrednosti: nekatere posebne vrednosti prve Stieltjesove konstante z racionalnimi argumenti se lahko zreducirajo na funkcijo Γ, prvo Stieltjesovo konstanto  in elementarne funkcije. Na primer:

  ,

Vrednosti prvih posplošenih Stieltjesovih konstant v točkah 1/4, 3/4 in 1/3 sta prva neodvisno izračunala Connon in Blagouchine

  ,

  ,

  .

Vrednosti v točkah 2/3, 1/6 in 5/6 je izračunal Blagouchine.:

  ,

  ,

  ,

Podal je tudi vrednosti v točkah 1/5, 1/8 in 1/12:

  ,

  ,

  ,

kakor tudi nekatere druge vrednosti.

Druga posplošena Stieltjesova konstanta

Drugo posplošeno Stieltjesovo konstanto so manj raziskovali od prve. Blagouchine je pokazal, da se lahko podobno kot prva posplošena Stieltjesova konstanta druga posplošena Stieltjesova konstanta z racionalnim argumentom izračuna s pomočjo formule:

Podobni rezultat je kasneje dobil Coffey z drugo metodo.

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The tumbling price of oil is a boon for most of the world. Russia, Venezuela and Iran? Not so much.
The price of a barrel of Brent Crude crashed through the psychological barrier of $50 (£33) this morning, having lost half of its value in 2014 since its peak of $115 in June.
It's now risen back above $50 (volatility ahoy!). Nonetheless, Bank of America analysts must be feeling pretty chuffed with themselves – on December 9th they predicted oil would fall to $50 in the near feature, and lo it came to pass.
Other than the smug bankers who called it correctly, who will be cheering as oil indices flash red and who will be choking back sobs as the black stuff loses its golden sheen?
With petrol prices on their way down toward £1 a litre (we haven't seen that since May 2009), and energy bills likely to follow suit if the 'Big Six' learnt their lesson from their roasting over last winter, consumers will be the big winners from the tumbling oil prices.
Chancellor George Osborne sure knows a bandwagon when he sees one, that's for sure.
Lower oil prices probably won't save the Lib Dems from electoral annihilation, though – soz Nick.
Airfares will probably fall too, but airlines are likely to pocket at least some of the windfall from cheaper fuel. That was reflected in their share prices today: BA owner IAG was up 1.7%, while Ryanair rose 1.3% and its bitter rival Aer Lingus edged up 1.1%, both in Dublin.
Another bitter rival, EasyJet, however, didn't take off at all oddly. Its shares hovered around yesterday's closing price of 1,682p in mid-morning trading, having spiked up to 1,700p when the markets opened after reporting passenger numbers rose 6.5% to 65.3 million in 2014. Can't win 'em all.
Other gas guzzling industries will also see their margins boosted by the oil price fall – heavy manufacturers, hauliers, chemicals companies and their ilk.
Most countries around the world stand to benefit from cheaper oil. The Philippines will be the biggest winner, according to Oxford Economics – GDP growth could increase 1.5% to an average of 7.6% in the next two years.
More importantly for the rest of the world economy, though, is the big boost for China, whose slowing growth some had pinpointed as one factor behind falling oil prices (although oversupply is the main short-term driver). China is the world's second-largest importer of oil, and each $1 drop in price could save it $2.1bn a year, the Economist estimated back in October.
The falling oil price should also help China clean up its cities' filthy air, as it will make the switch to more expensive, less-polluting fuels less painful.
It'll help the US a bit, but as Uncle Sam is simultaneously the world's biggest importer, producer and consumer of oil any positive impact will probably be cancelled out as more shale gas projects become economically unviable.
This one's pretty obvious, of course. Big firms, with their diverse investments, should be able to weather the storm, in part by scaling back expensive investments such as deepwater Arctic drilling. BP and Shell's shares even rose today, perhaps because investors were piling in to bet they would rebound in the future.
But smaller oil producers around the world, and the whole ecosystem of businesses that serve the industry, are likely to be hit hard. The US' fracking firms, whose boom fuelled the supply glut that is largely behind falling energy prices, will have to take stock. Canadian tar sands don't look so attractive. Brazillian drilling in the Atlantic is likely to slow down.
Oil and gas make up two-thirds of Russia's exports. It can't balance its budget with oil below $105 a barrel, let alone $50, according to the IMF. The central bank said in December that the economy could shrink 4.5% this year under a 'stress scenario' of oil averaging $60 a barrel. How stressful.
The rouble lost half its value last year, even after the central bank intervened to prop it up. That is making Russian company dollar debts increasingly unpayable, and the currency has continued to fall this year – $1 now buys just over 63 roubles.
Russia's problems are such that a Blackstone vice chairman has predicted President Vladimir Putin will be out the door this year. MT wouldn't bet against Vlad-the-lad Putin, but then again not many people saw the oil price fall coming.
Iran's economy is buckling under the weight of sanctions over its nuclear programme and oil at 38% of the price the IMF estimates it needs to balance its budget. Its economy probably grew around 1.5% in 2014, according to the World Bank, but that follows two years of swingeing recession.
In fact, things have got so bad that President Rouhani, who took over in 2013 after eight years of economic mismanagement by Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, has threatened to hold a referendum in an effort to head off hardliners trying to torpedo a détente with the West over the nuclear issue.
Oil prices continuing to fall may push Iran into the arms of the West, but at what cost to the Iranian economy?
The whole revolutionary socialism thing isn't going so well for Venezuela at the moment. It depends on oil for 96% of its foreign exchange and inflation has spiraled to 64%. An ice cream parlour famous for its 900 flavours was forced to close due to a milk shortage (Venezuelans may not miss the trout ice cream, though).
President Nicolas Maduro is currently visiting China to beg for a loan. Venezuela certainly can't afford the largesse of his iconic, erstwhile autocratic predecessor Hugo Chavez, which included splashing the cash on fellow left-wing governments like Cuba, anymore.
Saudi Arabia has said it won't allow cartel Opec to cut production, even if oil falls to $20 a barrel. While that would no doubt put most of the US' frackers out of business, to the benefit of the Saudis and their Opec mates, cheaper black gold will still hurt the Gulf.
They can use their enormous sovereign wealth funds to cushion the blow at the moment, but if oil prices stay low for long the Sheikhs and Emirs may have to slow down with the cash splashing on vanity projects like the 2022 World Cup and funding various rival groups in the Syrian civil war.


Sealants represent one of the most effective preventive treatment methods for protecting teeth from harmful bacteria. Teeth treated with sealants are much less likely to develop cavities.
Dental sealants are an acrylic plastic coating that is applied over a patient's back molars and allowed to harden. This coating protects the teeth from harmful bacteria and acids that could otherwise cause serious damage or harm. It also smooths out any rough surfaces so that brushing is more effective. Sealants are relatively easy to apply, and they can go a long way towards protecting the teeth from damage.
Sealants are most often provided for children and younger teens who have not yet lost all of their primary teeth. The primary teeth, also called baby teeth, tend to feature deeper grooves and fissures than adult secondary teeth. This makes these teeth more prone to cavities and decay. When coupled with the fact that children and teens don't always have the best brushing and flossing habits, it becomes very easy to see why sealants are often provided for younger patients. Still, many adults also receive sealants to protect their teeth. Our experts can determine whether sealants are the right treatment for you and your family.
The placement of sealants is fast and painless. We can often apply them alongside a regular checkup to make things more convenient. A patient who receives sealants will not need to make any major changes to their regular oral hygiene practices.
Most sealants last for around ten years. It is important to remember that regular brushing and flossing is still very important after receiving dental sealants.
The first step when providing sealants is to clean any teeth that are designated for sealing. This is very important, as we do not want any harmful material to become trapped underneath the sealants. The teeth are then dried and treated with an acidic etching gel. This roughens the outer surfaces so that the sealants can bond more easily. We then dry the teeth a final time and apply the sealant coating. Our dentists are very careful to ensure that the teeth are completely sealed. The coating is then allowed to dry and harden so that the teeth remain protected.
Protect your teeth with dental sealants from Broadway Dental. This preventive treatment can help protect your teeth from cavities and decay. Our team will do everything possible to help you maintain your beautiful smile. Please call us at (781) 202-5371 to schedule an appointment.


Camosun Kids' Club is committed to providing quality programs that encourage children to learn and explore their interests and ideas and have lots of fun! The Kids' Club Staff works with families to establish programs and routines that meet the needs of all children and their families. This program is designed for children between the ages of 5 to 12 years old and follows a child-oriented, play-based philosophy. We provide a licensed after school care program, early dismissal, and professional development daycare programming. We also run camps during Winter, Spring and Summer breaks, at an additional cost, based on enrollment.
We currently pick up after school from Our Lady of Perpetual Help.


text:
Governor Gordon Accepts Resignation of Public Service Commission Chairman
psc.wyo.gov
Governor Mark Gordon announced on Wednesday that he has accepted the resignation of Wyoming Public Service Commission Chairman, Kara Fornstrom. Her last day will be January 15, 2021.
Fornstrom has served on the commission for the past seven years. She was first appointed to her position by former Governor Matt Mead in March 2013 and was reappointed by Governor Gordon in 2019.
Duties of the Public Service Commission (PSC) include: ensuring that monopoly utilities in Wyoming, such as electricity, natural gas, and telephone provide safe and reliable service to customers at fair and reasonable rates. Additionally, the PSC also regulates some commercial water utilities and intrastate pipelines.
Fornstrom received her Bachelor's Degree from the University of Wyoming and her Juris Doctorate from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Law. She began her legal career at the Wyoming Attorney General's Office, Water Division and began work on the Nebraska v. Wyoming litigation over the North Platte River. In August of 2000, she was a founding partner of Hageman & Brighton, where her practice focused entirely and exclusively on water issues. In August of 2015, she was a member of the NARUC delegation to China for the U.S. Department of Energy's Regulatory Policy Technology Mission. She also became a member of the CCUS Policy, Research and Implementation Collaboration and Exchange to the United Kingdom in 2019.
"I want to thank Kara for her dedication to Wyoming and her diligence and commitment to the ratepayers of the state," Governor Gordon said. "During her tenure she addressed a number of challenging issues and helped to set an agenda to provide reliable, consistent, affordable electricity to Wyoming consumers, while also recognizing our ability to do all of that and help reduce C02 emissions with carbon capture."
"My nearly eight years at the Commission are truly the highlight of my professional career,' Fornstrom said. "I am grateful to Governor Gordon for his confidence as I served as Chairman for the past two years. I have been blessed during my time at the Commission to work with an incredibly dedicated team of public servants. They, and all the professionals associated with the Commission, have taught me so much and I will miss interacting with them on a daily basis. My life is richer because of my time at the Commission and I'll forever be grateful for the opportunity to serve the state I love."
Governor Gordon is expected to announce a replacement in the near future to assume the rest of Fornstrom's term, which expires in 2025.
Filed Under: casper, Casper Wyoming, Cheyenne, governor gordon, kara fornstrom, Mark Gordon, Pine Bluffs, Public Service Commission, resignation, utilities, Wyoming
Categories: Cheyenne News, Wyoming News


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Data has key contributions for creating a single view of the customer that can be used to improve your business and better understand those involved in the market you serve. In order to thrive in the current economic environment, businesses need to know their customers very well in order to provide exceptional customer service. To do so, they must be able to rapidly understand and react to customer shopping behaviors. To properly interpret and react to customer behaviors, businesses need a complete, single view of their customers. What does that mean? A Single View of the Customer (SVC) allows a business to analyze and visualize all the relevant information surrounding their customers, such as transactions, products, demographics, marketing, discounting, etc. Unfortunately, the IT systems that are typically found in mid-to large-scale companies have separated much of the relevant customer data into individual systems. Marketing information, transaction data, website analytics, customer profiles, shipping information, product information, etc. are often kept in different data repositories. This makes the implementation of SVC potentially challenging. First of all, let's examine two scenarios where a company's ability to fuse all these external sources into an SVC can provide tremendous value. Afterwards, we will pay attention to strategies for implementing an SVC.
Customer satisfaction has a major impact on the bottom line of any business. Studies found that 78 percent of customers have failed to complete a transaction because of poor customer service. A company's call center is a key part ofmaintaining customer satisfaction. Customers interacting with the call center typically do so because there is already a problem – a missing order, a damaged or incorrect product. It is critical that the call center employee can resolve the problem as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, due to the typical IT infrastructure discussed above, the customer service representative often faces a significant challenge. For example, in order to locate the customer's order, access shipping information and the potential to find a replacement product to ship, the customer service representative may have to log in to three or more different systems (often, the number is significantly higher). Every login to a new system increases the time the customer has to wait, decreasing their satisfaction, and every additional system adds to the probability of diturbances or even failure.
What products are/are not doing well?
What products are being purchased by your key customer demographic groups?
What items are being purchased together (basket analysis)?
Are there stores with inventory problems (overstocked/understocked)?
Once again, the plethora of data storage systems poses a challenge. To gather the data required to perform the necessary analytics, numerous systems will have to be queried. As with the call center scenario, this is often performed manually, via "swivel-chair integration." This means that an analyst will have to manually login to each system, execute a query to get the necessary data, store that data in a temporary location (often in Microsoft Excel™), and then repeat that process for each independent data store. Finally, once the data is gathered the process of performing the actual analysis can begin. The process of gathering the necessary data often takes longer than the actual analysis. Even in medium-sized companies this process can involve numerous people to get the analysis done as quickly as possible. Still, the manual nature of this process means that it is not only expensive to perform (in terms of resources), but it occurs at a much slower pace than ideal to rapidly make business decisions. The fact that performing even the most basic and critical analytics is so expensive and time consuming often prevents companies from taking the next steps, even though those steps could turn out critical to the business' sales. One of those potential next steps is moving the full picture of the customer directly into the stores. When sales associates can immediately access customer information, they are able to provide a more personalized customer experience, which is likely to increase customer satisfaction and average revenue per sale. Another opportunity where the company can see tremendous sales impact is in moving from reactive analytics to predictive analytics. When a company runs traditional retail metrics – as previously described – they are typically either done as part of a regular reporting cycle or in response to an event, such as a sale, in order to understand the impact of that event on the business. While no one is likely to dispute the value of those analytics, the fact is that the company is now merely reacting to events that have already happened. We can try to use some sort of advanced analytic methods to predict how our customers may behave in the future based on their past actions, but as we so often hear from financial analysts, past performance is not indicative of future results. However, if we can take our SVC, that links together all of their past actions, and tie in information about what the customer intends to do in the future (like Prosper Insight Analytics', we now have a roadmap of customer intent that we can use to make key business decisions.
It must connect all the relevant data from the existing data sources in a central data store. This provides the ability to perform the complex analytics across all the linked information.
It needs to be easily modified to support new data. As the business grows and evolves, learning to leverage its new SVC, additional data sources will typically be identified as being helpful. These should be easy to integrate into the system.
The initial implementation must be rapid. Ideally, a no-code solution should be implemented. Companies rarely have the resources to support expensive, multi-month IT efforts.
It should not disrupt existing systems. The data fabric should provide an augmented data layer that supports the complex analytic queries required by the SVC without disrupting the day-to-day functionality of the existing data stores or applications.
A well-built SVC can have a significant, positive impact on a company's bottom line. Customer satisfaction can be increased and analysis can move from being reactive to being predictive of customer behavior. This effort will likely require that a data fabric be developed to support the application, but new technologies now make it possible to rapidly create that fabric using no-code solutions, thereby making feasible the deployment of a Single View of the Customer.